Articles Tagged with San Jose Real Estate Lawyer

AdobeStock_413139303-300x200Residential tenants have many more protections than commercial tenants because residential tenants have less bargaining power, or so the law presumes. It is, therefore, much easier to evict a commercial tenant than a residential one. After all, the employees will still have a home to go to post-eviction.  Under California law, the power shifts to the landlord in these agreements. Nonetheless, disputes tend to harm both parties, and resolving them tends to be a matter of coming up with a better agreement. Still, it’s important to understand your rights as both a tenant and a landlord when it comes to commercial leases. In this article, our San Jose real estate attorney will discuss how to manage commercial landlord-tenant disputes.

Eviction

There is no guarantee of habitability; a commercial tenant has limited options when it comes to leveraging a landlord to make repairs. Rent cannot be withheld, even in escrow, and there is no guarantee that repairs will be made unless it is in the lease. The covenant to pay rent supersedes all other considerations when it comes to commercial tenancies. A commercial landlord may send an eviction notice for a lease violation or the failure to pay and the commercial tenant will only have three days to respond. Clauses in the lease may prevent you from suing or prevent you from asserting rights as an evictee. Again, the language will be contained in the lease, so it must be read carefully.

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An easement is a legal tool that gives someone else the right to use part of your land. Generally speaking, an easement does not give a party full ownership of that part of the property and instead, will include restrictions on how the party can use the land. Additionally, the property owner retains the right to use their land as they choose, as long as the use does not interfere with the easement holder’s rights.

One type of easement does restrict the property owner’s right to use the land – sometimes, they cannot use that part of their property at all once an easement is in place. These are called exclusive easements and, while they are rare, it is important to understand all implications of this type of easement before you ever grant one.

How an Exclusive Easement is Acquired